


The Heart That Fed

by guava



Series: Finally, After 1000 Years [3]
Category: Mirai Sentai Timeranger
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, M/M, Mostly Gen, Post-Canon, Wakes & Funerals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 10:28:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16808857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guava/pseuds/guava
Summary: Tatsuya ties up some loose ends with his dad at Naoto's funeral.





	The Heart That Fed

Beneath Naoto's picture on the altar, someone had placed a hand-drawn picture of TimeFire that Tatsuya recognized right away. He looked around for the artist and found the small boy across the crowded room, noticeable because of the old lady with her grey hair in a bun by his side. Aside from the two, the other attendees were mostly men, half in suits and half in their City Guardians uniform.

'Taiji!'

Tatsuya took a step forward and even raised his hand, ready to call out the boy's name. He stopped as the old lady, probably Taiji's grandmother, rubbed Taiji's back that was clothed in a jacket that was slightly too large for the boy's small frame. She said something to him that Tatsuya couldn't hear, then handed Taiji a yellow handkerchief for him to cry into.

Tatsuya froze, at a loss on what he should do or say. Being hospitalized on and off before his surgery, Taiji must have some inkling of what death was, but perhaps not the reality that even his heroes could die. Whatever comforting words that Tatsuya could offer wouldn't make a dent in easing the confusion, fear and sorrow that must be swirling inside Taiji right now, just like how appearing as TimeRed didn't have a quarter of the impact of Naoto stepping up to give the boy a dose of courage.

Tongue-tied, Tatsuya turned to stare at the framed picture of Naoto. He had been wearing a suit and tie in it, and smirked in a way that nearly made the headshot inappropriate as a professional portrait.

He imagined in his head Naoto telling him, 'Let it go, Asami.'

He should, but he turned back to where Taiji was all the same and found both him and his grandmother gone.

Without a thought in his head, he moved on and joined a group of City Guardians guys for a drink. He didn't say a word and just listened to their conversation, their accent revealing that they weren't from Tokyo. From where exactly, Tatsuya couldn't tell. The group used to belong to the same unit as Naoto, before Naoto got the V-Commander and his promotion.

One of them asked, "So how did you know Takizawa?"

"We went to college together," Tatsuya replied.

"Oh yeah, he said he went for a couple of years. Which college was it again?"

Predictably, the mention of the school's name brought about two 'no ways' and one 'are you shitting me'. Worse, the group then turned to him and insisted to know that since he was also a student there, was he _someone_ or related to _someone_.

"I'm just a self-employed karate instructor," Tatsuya simply said and sipped the beer from his paper cup to avoid saying anything else.

The truth, specifically the part about him being self-employed, was enough to discourage them from asking more questions. It'd only get more awkward if Naoto's former teammates had asked if he knew anything about the connection between Naoto and the Asami heir.

As Tatsuya took his leave, he shook hands all around and looked for Taiji and his grandmother again. They weren't anywhere to be seen, forcing Tatsuya to give up for the day.

Would he even meet Taiji again?

What would Naoto do if their places were reversed?

Questions and possibilities plagued him all the way to the car park, where he couldn't ignore someone calling out to him, "Tatsuya."

His dad was there, waiting for him beside his car. Tatsuya shouldn't be surprised to see him there, considering that this funeral service for TimeFire was organized by Asami group. But he never thought that Asami Wataru would actually attend the event in person.

"Dad," Tatsuya greeted as he stood face to face with the man.

"Do you still have the V-Commander with you?"

"No," Tatsuya said. "That and everything operating on thirtieth century technology have all been returned to the future. Since most of the world isn't going to disappear in 2000 after all."

His dad nodded, as if hearing about impending world destruction and time travel had become old hat for him. Tatsuya took a good long look at him and couldn't see him as anything else except President Asami on a typical workday. Another question came to his mind, perhaps something he'd better keep to himself, but he asked it anyway.

There was no better time than the present.

"Dad, you fired Naoto, didn't you?" Tatsuya started. "After you removed the voice lock from the V-Commander. Since he has nothing to do with Asami group anymore, why have you arranged all this?"

Was it out of guilt? Moral obligation? Tatsuya didn't think so.

"It's for the public who believed in TimeFire, and the City Guardians," said his dad. "For a while, Takizawa was a good face for the force. Until he acted like it was an extension of himself."

His dad's tough demeanor cracked a little towards the end, letting the faintest hint of regret show in his voice. On some level, he may just be aware that his criticism of Naoto also applied to himself. Or maybe not. There were many layers to his dad that Tatsuya had yet to understand, though he knew his dad well enough to see the old man's payback for Naoto from a mile away. Still, Tatsuya didn't think that he had planned to deal his hand on the day Naoto died, setting in motion a tragedy that could have been avoided. His dad wouldn't be standing here otherwise. 

"So what became of the other Timerangers?" His dad asked.

"They've all went back to their time," Tatsuya said. "I sent them back on a time ship so they wouldn't disappear with this world, but they came back. They're the best friends I've ever had...and now they've gone home."

He didn't know why he was pouring his heart out to his dad. It wasn't worth it anymore to keep up the old arguments anymore. And it seemed like what Naoto would have approved of, for Tatsuya to treasure what he had and Naoto never had. 

Opening up gave his dad the chance to cycle back to the topic that had to be addressed in every of their impromptu conversations these days. "Are you coming home? Without your teammates, you'll be all alone at your place."

"I'm staying," Tatsuya asserted. The timing was finally right for him to express the choice that he had made since the ultimate battle; since he stood on the land and breathed in the air that he, Yuuri, Domon, Shion, Ayase and Naoto had protected. "Dad, someday I'll accept the Asami name. My style might differ from yours, but I'm now living on my own, for Naoto's sake too."

To that, his dad neither said a single word nor did he show any sign of shock, acceptance or any other emotion. Maybe he needed a while to process Tatsuya's new direction, and Tatsuya didn't have a problem with that.

Just to break the awkward silence, Tatsuya added, "I'll keep in touch with mom."

With a slight nod, his dad turned to show that he was done saying what he had to say. It was enough for Tatsuya to meet and part with him on a good note. While he wanted to ask his dad what his current plans were, particularly regarding his existing data of the technology behind the TimeFire suit and the V-Rex, Tatsuya thought that they could afford to save that discussion for later. 

Then his dad stopped in his tracks and stared pointedly at the building's entrance, beyond which mourned everyone who cared about TimeFire. 

"That boy had no family," his dad said. "Absolutely no one." 

"No," Tatsuya corrected, "we were there with him up until the end." 

In person, it was just him, too crushed to make Naoto believe at the last moment that Naoto wasn't alone. Why Tatsuya felt the urge to rewrite history, he had no idea. Perhaps showing his dad that Naoto deserved to be valued as a person was his way of compensating for his failure to save his friend. 

_Let it go, Asami._

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from the poem "Ozymandias". 
> 
> Taiji is the kid from Case File 35 whom Naoto visited at the hospital. 
> 
> _"Dad, someday I'll accept the Asami name. My style might differ from yours but I'm now living on my own, for Naoto's sake too."_ -Tatsuya's dialogue is lifted from his voiceover in the last episode (TVN Subs). 
> 
> Whoever's out there, thanks for reading!


End file.
